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What good are your favorite TV shows, songs and photos if you can’t share them? Motorola Mobility’s Larry Robinson discusses how the company has opened the floodgates for content delivery and sharing. He highlights the company’s efforts to transform DVR recording units into home video gateways, designed to stream content to other IP-connected devices in the home.

The way we consume content has certainly changed as we grow more and more attached to our second screens. In fact, survey results show that the average Super Bowl viewer will check their mobile device up to 10 times during the game and almost a third of viewers will have their devices in hand while they watch the big game! Specifically, advertisers are leveraging social media as an opportunity to advocate their brands and keep viewers engaged. The value of these channels can be seen in Facebook’s public filing this week as the company seeks to raise a whopping $5 billion. Do you plan on using Facebook or Twitter during the big game?

1. Motorola’s New Strategy Brings Content to your Tablet (Jan. 28) By Jillian, PadGadget: Motorola has the details on how they would change the face of DVRs by replacing those recording units with home video gateways designed to move content between all of your devices and technology (including gaming consoles, computers, tablets, smartphones or other set-top boxes).

3. Super Bowl advertisers seek buzz on social media (Jan. 29) By Yinka Adegoke, Reuters: In the age of Twitter and Facebook, many Super Bowl viewers will use the commercial breaks to go online and see what people are saying about the game. This year, advertisers want them to tweet about their favorite commercials as well.

Post-CES news continued to dominate tech media this week with our Connected Home Gateway garnering additional praise from CEPro. Multichannel News added that the theme of CES revolved around video everywhere on multiple screens and devices, an area where we focus many of our efforts. The article also highlights tablet TV and features Comcast’s AnyPlay device, which leverages Motorola Televation technology.

In industry news this week, several popular websites, such as Reddit.com and Wikipedia, shut down their pages in protest of the Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). GigaOM’s Ryan Lawler argues that studios are partially responsible for making pirated streams and downloads too easy for consumers to access, adding that consumers are willing to pay for content. In other news, Reuters’ John Abell wrote an opinion piece detailing the evolution of television towards widespread adoption of TV Everywhere, which is quickly expanding and becoming a standard in the cable industry, although the controversy over content will continue. In fact, Sports Business Daily reports that ESPN is currently negotiating with MLB Advanced Media to adopt TV Everywhere as multi-platform viewing continues to gain popularity. How would you feel about watching sports games on your tablet?

4. TV 2012: A tale of two sets (Jan. 18) By John Abell, Reuters: There’s a whole lot going on in the world of television, the medium that has dominated the world’s attention for three generations and was supposed to — at the very least — become an also-ran to the Internet.

The 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show is wrapping up! This week, hundreds of companies showcased new products and technologies in Las Vegas, including Motorola Mobility. Here’s a quick look at some of our highlights from the 2012 show.

Engadget covered our Connected Home Gateway and featured it in a video demo. Phandroid and The New York Post raved about Motorola Televation, which allows users to view TV on their Wi-Fi capable companion devices creating a “TV in every room” experience, even getting billing above Justin Bieber in the Post article!

Several of our executives participated in thought-provoking panel discussions at the show. International Business Times quoted David Grubb, Vice President of Architecture & Strategy for Motorola’s Converged Experiences business, on the importance of standards for next-gen TVs. Leon Hounshell, Division General Manager for Motorola Mobility’s 4Home Connected Solutions, discussed how broadband has infiltrated the home energy market at the CES Connections Summit; see some of his insightful comments on the Verizon at Home blog and in our Twitter feed. While you’re there, follow us so you can stay abreast of all our exciting news in 2012. CES is just the start!

1. Motorola Connected Home Gateway tour (video) (Jan. 11) By Brian Heater, Engadget: When we first told you about Motorola’s Connected Home Gateway, it was little more than a picture of a cool looking router. Thankfully, however, the company has been giving tours of the technology on the floor of CES, showing off the way it brings together such things as climate control, home security and automation.

3. Motorola Televation the next revelation (Jan. 12) By Garrett Sloane, New York Post: Motorola Mobility is laying the groundwork for a Google invasion of the living room. Beyond smartphones, the $12.5 billion pending Motorola acquisition will hand Google control of one of the top makers of cable set-top box technology.

4. CES 2012: Industry Pros Demand Standards for Next-Generation Internet TVs (Jan. 11) By David Zielenziger, International Business Times: A group of top technology professionals involved with Internet TV, including VPs of Yahoo, Cisco Systems and Western Digital, warned Wednesday that consumer acceptance will falter unless industry standards are adopted. With virtually half all new TVs equipped for Internet transmission, the lack of standards presents technical problems that need to be solved quickly, they said at a panel on the Future of TV at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

5. Consumers Are Driving Smarter Energy (Jan. 11) By Alberto Canal, Verizon at Home blog: In addition to the myriad big, loud booths, wildly dressed presenters, and the sheer volume of humanity weaving through it all, the Consumer Electronics Show also hosts a variety of tech-centric panel discussions… One of the panels I attended discussed “Consumer Demand for Energy as a Service.” Broadband has opened the home energy market beyond traditional utility companies and energy service providers, the discussion highlighted. Panelists discussed barriers to effective use and deployment of smart meters, raising consumer awareness around energy, all while keeping it simple and easy.

See more of Leon’s comments on the Motorola Mobility Home account Twitter feed, @MotoMedia2Go.

This week, Motorola paired up with FourthWall Media to further integrate set-top boxes and mobile devices. This will allow Motorola to continue extending its multiscreen capabilities enabling users to program their DVRs remotely or play on-demand video from their smartphones and tablets. Ryan Lawler from GigaOM also discusses why providing content on multiple platforms is becoming more prevalent as the media landscape continues to evolve.

In retrospect, 2011 has been a very eventful year for the digital entertainment industry. Mashable wraps up some of this year’s major changes that have affected media production, consumption and distribution such as an influx in social TV activity and the transformation of tablets into second screens. Ben Drawbaugh also shares some of his predictions for the future of TV in his opinion piece for Engadget. Drawbaugh speculates that providers might start offering unbundled programming to subscribers. What do you think will happen to TV in 2012?

The results are in – viewers want social TV. According to Motorola’s 2011 Media Engagement Barometer survey, consumers have migrated away from traditional TV viewing habits and have adopted an “anytime, anywhere” mentality regarding TV consumption. The Media Engagement Barometer revealed that we spend about six hours a week on social networking sites; these findings open the floodgates for converged media opportunities. For instance, Mashable speculates that Netflix and Hulu will soon infiltrate our Facebook newsfeeds allowing us to check out what shows and movies our friends are watching. Verizon is teaming up with Redbox to launch a web-based video service next spring. GigaOM predicts Verizon’s over-the-top service will rival major online players like Netflix and Hulu.

Lastly, recent deals between the NFL and ESPN are raising network fees by over $3 billion a year! In result, providers might sharply hike up our cable bills to compensate for the expensive content rights. For those of you football fans, how much would you pay to watch sports programming?

4. Why Verizon wants to go over-the-top (Dec. 6) By Ryan Lawler, GigaOM: Verizon is working on launching a streaming subscription video service that could compete directly against online players like Netflix and Hulu Plus, according to Reuters.

5. Cable-TV Honchos Cry Foul Over Soaring Cost of ESPN (Dec. 6) By Sam Schechner, The Wall Street Journal: Dissent is growing within the media business over the rising cost of sports programming, even as the NFL is negotiating new agreements that are expected to boost broadcast networks’ fees by 60% to about $3.2 billion a year.

This week, Silicon Valley Business Journal honored Nate Williams, senior director for Motorola Mobility’s Converged Experiences Group, as one of its 40 under 40! Williams oversees several of Motorola’s devices that connect users to their home, such as Motorola’s 4Home home automation technology.

In other news, Cablevision Systems recently debuted a commercial showing off its DVR Plus network digital video recorder service. Cablevision’s nDVR gives subscribers the ability to record up to four shows simultaneously. Additionally, Mashable reports that YouTube will undergo a massive redesign this week, highlighting different YouTube channels on the main homepage. NewTeeVee claims that this design overhaul will become the Internet’s answer to cable TV. Online streaming has rapidly increased over the past 12 months and cable operators are considering charging subscribers based on their usage patterns. If cable providers upped their prices, would you cancel your Netflix and Hulu subscriptions?

2. Cablevision Pushes Network DVR Upgrades In TV Spot (Nov. 28) – By Todd Spangler, Multichannel News: Cablevision Systems is touting the ability to record up to four shows simultaneously with is DVR Plus network-based digital video recorder service in a new commercial.

4. YouTube reinvents itself with massive relaunch (Dec. 1) – By Janko Roettgers, NewTeeVee: YouTube is rolling out one of its most ambitious redesigns since its launch in 2006 this Thursday afternoon, putting channels front and center in an attempt to become the Internet’s answer to cable TV.

Motorola Mobility made a huge splash at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo in Atlantathis week. Motorola CEO, Sanjay Jha, kicked off the first day with insightful opening remarks about the direction the cable industry is heading, claiming the industry must “change its interaction model with the consumer.” Also at the show, Jha and Motorola President, Dan Moloney, were featured in two video interviews conducted with Light Reading’s Jeff Baumgartner discussing the future of connectivity and the potential combination of Android and the set-top box. Jha noted that consumers are viewing content on more screens and that these devices represent a huge revenue-generating opportunity for cable operators. Moloney adds that consumers are looking for ubiquitous connectivity, wanting to connect whenever and wherever and that wireless connected to the traditional cable industry is a must to satisfy consumer needs.

At the conference, Motorola also announced the upcoming launch of the QAM platform and a software upgrade that will expand the downstream capacity of its existing platform. This increase in density will help the company better align itself with the cable industry’s migration to the Converged Cable Access platform (CCAP). Be sure to also check out Rick Yuzzi’s video interview with Jerry Kurtze, Motorola’s Sr. Marketing and Business Development Manager. Kurtze discusses exciting ways that connectivity infiltrates the home beyond media and entertainment.
1. Moto Mobility CEO: 4G Can’t Do It Alone (Nov. 15) By Jeff Baumgartner, Light Reading: 4G technologies like LTE may be screaming fast compared to 3G, but they aren’t necessarily suitable to handle all of a consumer’s broadband needs, Motorola Mobility Inc. CEO Sanjay Jha said here this morning.